Israelis denied Dubai visas

October 15, 2007 9:00am

The United Arab Emirates has refused to grant visas to Israelis scheduled to attend two conferences.

Dubai refused to grant visas to 25 Israelis for the Oct. 18-22 World Congress of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association, The Jerusalem Post reported. The delegation had no indication that visas would be an issue and had already paid the organizers and the airlines.

The congress is being held under the auspices of General Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Dubai. Dubai previously has enforced a trade ban against Israel.

Dubai also apparently said it will provide only 20 visas to a delegation of 200 Israeli dentists scheduled to attend the annual conference of the World Dental Federation Oct. 24-27. United Arab Emirates authorities had agreed not to deny visas to Israelis on the basis of their nationality but now are citing “security concerns” as the reason for the small number of visas.